Heat transfer in fin assemblies: Significance of two-dimensional effects—a reexamination of the issue

The purpose of this paper is to reexamine the significance and nature of two-dimensional effects in fin assemblies. In particular, consideration is given to concerns expressed in the literature that the standard approach commonly leads to large errors due to two-dimensional effects. In addition, for the purpose of establishing a practical means of evaluating the level of significance of two-dimensional effects, an approximate first-order two-dimensional thermal circuit approach to analyzing heat transfer in fin assemblies is developed.